Liverpool Escapade
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and seventy-nine: Matt has been planning for this for a while: He's going to surprise Sasha on her birthday.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth cycle. Which MEANS **cycle 9** is here, which MEANS... GLEE IS BACK!! YAY!_

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**"Liverpool Escapade"  
Matt/Sasha (OC)  
Sequel to "The Fourth Bird's Call", "You Keep Calling Me Back To Your Heart", "Waves of Joy", and "Leap the Ocean"**

He'd been keeping the prospect of her surprise to help make the days pass. He wanted to see her face when she realized he was there with her, in England, for her birthday. He had found out the date, months ago, looked at the calendar and discovered there was a long weekend right over it. It was still a few months away at the time, so he didn't know if he'd have any practices, or rehearsals, but he could skip them just once.

Even then, there was no guarantee he would actually manage it. There was the money for his plane tickets, his parents' approval, not to mention her parents'. He'd asked them first, knowing none of the rest mattered if Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox weren't okay with this. He realized it was months between then and now, that it could seem premature to assume… but he knew what he felt for her, and he liked to think he knew how she felt for him, too. He could believe that the months would be just as great as they'd ever been.

They said yes. After that, he asked his own parents, knowing that one might be harder. But then it was as though, like Sasha's parents, they seemed to understand what was going on.

So that left the final hurdle, the money. He'd started putting some aside, before he knew what he wanted to do with it. Once he did though, he became more driven in putting it all together. His mother had put in the missing amount in the end.

He'd gotten an earful from Rachel when he'd said he'd be away that long weekend. It didn't matter – he could feel the day fast approaching, and nothing would change his mood. He'd planned it all, down to telling Sasha he would be away the day before her birthday, so she wouldn't start wondering why he wasn't there. When it was finally time to leave for the airport, he swore he'd never seen his mother so worked up, not since they'd hosted the family reunion three years before. She spent the whole ride telling him what not to do, what to be careful about, insisting that he let her know what was going on throughout the trip, when possible.

After copious amounts of hugging, his mother had finally let him go and he boarded the plane. He spent most of the flight trying to sleep, much like Sasha had done on her last flight over. He wanted to be wide awake when he arrived. Mrs. Wilcox had told him to take a taxi and she'd taken care of the fare, but when they'd realized the plane would land midway through Sasha's school day, Mrs. Wilcox had told Matt she would give Sasha the money without telling her what it was for. So he took a taxi to Sasha's school.

He didn't know what would happen once he got there, like what if they didn't let him through? Luckily, he made it through, finding the classroom, as Mrs. Wilcox had told him. He knocked on the door, and the teacher came up. He kept his voice down as he asked for her – he knew her reaction would not be quiet… The teacher looked hesitant at first, but finally he called her out. Matt took a couple steps back in the hall, waiting… and then there she came, looking around…

She squealed in surprise, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. He smirked, holding a finger to his lips to beg her quiet as he stepped up. She broke out of the shock and leapt to hug him, kiss him…

"What are you doing here?" she laughed and cried in a whisper.

"I'll tell you, but first I need you to pay the driver…" She looked confused. "You have the money your mother gave you?" he asked as they walked toward the exit.

"Yeah, but that's…" She finally understood, and she gasped. "Have you been conspiring with my mother?" she 'interrogated' him, and he smiled. "She's the best…" she whispered under her breath, just as she came to figure out something else: "Are you… Tomorrow…" she looked back to him.

"Happy Birthday," he confirmed. She grinned, holding on to his arm.

"Matthew Rutherford… You never cease to amaze," she hummed, then looked back to him, inspired. "You have to come and see the club. We have practice this afternoon!"

"Cool, I'm there," he nodded. He stayed outside after she returned to class, waiting for the day to be over. He took the opportunity to check in with his mother. He sat for a while, looking around. He walked around the grounds until finally he could see people coming out from the school. Then he could see Sasha cutting across to get to him, with her best friend Shelley in tow.

"Matt, let's go!" she told him, as the girls grabbed his bags and led him back into the school. There had been only seven of them at first, but the way she said it, things had improved greatly since.

They walked in, and he could barely recognize the room he'd seen the one time. They had fixed it up, the whole group. There were now sixteen of them, along with a band, and a director, Miss Barrett. The other five, who'd been there at first, saw him and reacted, as they came to greet him. Miss Barrett was happy to meet him as well, inviting him to join in.

"Still haven't decided on a name, have you?" he asked Sasha as they started for her house, after the practice was done. She merely sighed. She'd been telling him how much they couldn't make up their minds on the subject. "The Rutherfordians…" he teased, and she elbowed him with a chuckle.

"We'll find something, no worries. There's absolutely no rush. And that includes this weekend," she breathed out. "So glad you're here," she shook her head, still in disbelieving awe of the surprise.

When they arrived, Sasha showed him around. They had just finished 'the tour' when Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox arrived. Matt thanked Sasha's mother for all her help and asked after her father's condition. He assured him he was as good as new, having recovered after his accident.

The weekend was everything he'd hoped for. He could tell how happy Sasha was, and that was all he'd wanted. Of course it made him happy for himself as well, having her there… Not having her around all the time, it only made it more special when she was there. At the same time though, he awaited with so much hope and anticipation the day when they could be living in the same city…

THE END


End file.
